


Not Just Friends

by StaciNadia



Category: 9-1-1 (TV), 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awesome Henrietta "Hen" Wilson, Confessions, Confused Evan "Buck" Buckley, Crossover, Didn't Know They Were Dating, Evan "Buck" Buckley & TK Strand Friendship, Getting Together, Holding Hands, Jealous Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), M/M, Minor Carlos Reyes/TK Strand, Post-Episode: s02e03 Hold The Line
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:27:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29811876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StaciNadia/pseuds/StaciNadia
Summary: Buck is just plain confused after talking to TK.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Comments: 15
Kudos: 337





	Not Just Friends

**Author's Note:**

> Finally! My first 9-1-1 fic and my first Buddie fic! I started writing this after the crossover episode. It took a while, but I finally finished it! Yay!

Buck was so confused. Why on earth did TK think that he was flirting with him? Because inviting him to hang out in LA if he ever came out there was just an offer of friendship, not romance. He wasn’t gay. He liked girls, like Abby. And he needed to let TK know that.

Eddie was already in the 118’s truck, getting ready to leave, but Buck had seen no sign of Hen, so he figured he was safe. He ran off in the direction that TK had left in.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before he saw TK’s back. “TK! Wait!” he yelled out.

The other firefighter turned around. “Buck!” he greeted. “I thought you and your team were leaving.”

“We are,” Buck told him. “But I wanted to talk to you first.”

“What about?” TK asked.

“I… I wasn’t flirting with you before,” Buck told him. “It was just an offer of friendship. I’m not into guys or anything.”

“Really?” TK looked surprised. “Because the way you looked at that other guy… Eddie, wasn’t it? That wasn’t just a look of friendship.”

Buck’s jaw dropped. “Wh…what?” he managed to get out. “No. No. It’s not like that. He’s my best friend! And he doesn‘t like me like that, either!”

“Are you sure?” TK asked meaningfully. “Because for the little bit of time that I saw him, he looked at you the same way.”

Buck just stood there, his jaw hanging open in shock. 

“Buck! There you are!”

Buck turned around and saw Eddie jogging towards him. He beamed at seeing his friend. 

TK clapped Buck on the shoulder and shot him a knowing look. “We’ll talk later. I’ve got your Instagram, so we’ll be in touch.” He jogged off again in the direction he was going, most likely towards his father and the rest of the 126.

Buck was just left with more confusion than ever.

“What was that about?” Eddie prompted from beside him.

“Nothing, I think.”

**********

Yup, Buck was definitely still confused.

He sat in the 118’s fire truck as they drove toward El Paso, where Eddie’s family lived, before they returned home to LA. Hen was driving again and Eddie was sitting beside her, occasionally giving her directions on the best route to his family‘s house.

With Hen and Eddie preoccupied by the road, Buck was pretty much only left with his thoughts. The conversation that he’d had with TK before they left Austin was still playing in his head.

Was that really true? Was he interested in Eddie? And was Eddie interested in him in return? Just thinking about the possibility of it made Buck feel warm and happy inside.

He kept glancing over at Eddie. Eddie was an amazing guy, and his kid was the absolute best. He was so happy to be allowed in their lives. He nearly felt like a second father for Christopher.

_Did_ he want more than just friendship with Eddie?

Buck dropped his head into his hands. He wished that he hadn’t gone along to help with the Texas fires. He didn‘t sign up for all this confusion.

“Hey.”

Buck raised his head in alarm. Eddie was looking at him with concern.

“You alright, Buck?”

“Just peachy!” Buck said, plastering a grin on his face and hoping that Eddie would buy it.

Eddie looked dubious, but didn’t say anything more. At a red light, Hen turned around and shot a suspicious look at Buck that definitely said she’d be talking to him later. 

Buck had to distract himself. He was going to drive himself crazy and then the others would _really_ be suspicious. He took out his cell phone and opened Instagram.

He noticed that TK had already added him. He added TK as well, then started flicking through his photos. He recognized the other 126 members at once. But there were plenty of pictures of TK and another guy who was occasionally wearing a police uniform. That had to be the boyfriend TK mentioned. 

He went back to the rest of his messages and started reading them. Then a new message popped up. Buck quickly read it and a huge grin grew on his face. “Oh, man, Eddie, check this out!” he yelled out, shoving his phone towards the other man. “Guess who just added me on Instagram? Come on, guess!”

Eddie had a grin on his face, too. “No idea,” he said.

“Firefox!” Buck blurted out. “That is _so_ amazing! She must have realized how awesome I am once she finally met me!”

Eddie chuckled. “She added you because I asked her to!” he told Buck. “I knew how much it meant to you.”

And wasn’t that the _nicest_ thing? Eddie wanted to make Buck happy. He cared about Buck. And Buck cared about Eddie, and Christopher. Did he love them? Him? He realized that both answers were an emphatic _yes_. “Hey, thanks, man!” was all he could manage to say.

“No problem,” Eddie said.

“Firefox?” Hen asked. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s Marjan, from the 126,” Buck explained, breaking his mind away from his love realization haze. “It’s her Instagram handle. A lot of the crazy stuff she’s gotten into at work gets put up there, especially from Miami. She’s like _famous_!”

“Huh,” Hen said, clearly not as impressed as Buck.

Buck merely sat back with a grin on his face. The confusion was all gone.

**********

The trio had finally made it to Eddie’s family’s house. They all stretched after the long ride there. Hen took a big sniff. “Something smells delicious in there,” she said. 

“Mom always makes the best food,” Eddie said with a smile. “I called ahead, so hopefully there will be plenty for all of us.”

Buck was actually a little nervous meeting Eddie’s family, especially just after realizing that he had feelings for the man. He hung back around the fire truck, not really moving towards the house.

Eddie, of course, noticed. “Hey, you okay?” he asked quietly after pulling Buck aside. “You’ve been kind of off since we left the fires.”

“I’m okay,” Buck told him. “In fact, I’m better than okay.” And it was true. He had been feeling a little floaty ever since his realization.

Eddie raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Something happened earlier.” Buck didn’t know where Hen had gone to, but she couldn’t have gone far, especially without Eddie. But Buck didn’t really care that she might likely be listening. It was too important not to tell Eddie.

Eddie stood quietly, waiting for Buck to continue.

“Remember TK from the 126?” Buck asked.

“Yeah,” Eddie said. “You were talking to him right before we left. Does this have to do with that conversation?”

“Yeah,” Buck confirmed. “He thought I was hitting on him.”

“And were you?” There was no judgment in Eddie’s voice, but Buck detected a small hint of jealousy. It made him want to giggle giddily.

“Nope,” he answered. “I told him I liked girls, but he didn’t agree. And then he talked about the way I looked at you, and I realized he was right. I care about you and Christopher _so_ much, but especially you.” He looked at Eddie and bit his lip. “And he said you looked at me the same way.”

It was torture waiting for an answer from Eddie. He just looked at Buck intently for what seemed like an eternity. “Eddie?” he whispered. 

Finally, Eddie spoke. “How can two people care about each other so much and neither one of them realize it until someone else finally points it out?” he asked, chuckling.

Buck’s eyes widened. “You mean…?”

“Yup,” Eddie grinned at him. “I care so much about you, too. I can’t imagine you not being in me and Christopher’s lives.”

“Really?” That giddy, floaty feeling Buck had was growing and he felt like he could fly.

“Really.”

“That’s really awesome,” Buck said, beaming. He stepped closer to Eddie and whispered, “I’d ask if I could kiss you, but I don’t think we’re alone here.”

“No, you certainly aren’t.”

Buck and Eddie spun around and saw Hen standing by the front of the fire truck, smirking and waving at them. “Congratulations, you two. But I am hungry and your family’s food smells too good to miss out any longer.”

“She’s right,” Eddie said. “Come on.” He took Buck by the hand and led him towards his family’s house. “Let me introduce my boyfriend.”

Buck didn’t think the smile would ever leave his face. Boyfriend sounded wonderful.

**********

On the drive back to LA, Buck and Eddie were dozing in their seats, holding hands. Buck was snoring away. Hen couldn’t help but chuckle at them. 

The radio buzzed with Bobby checking up on his teammates. Sending a smirk back to the lovebirds in the back seat, she said quietly, “They’re finally together, thank god. Pay up, Cap.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come visit me on my [Tumblr](http://stacinadia.tumblr.com/) and/or [Pillowfort](http://www.pillowfort.social/stacinadia)!


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